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A  Missionary  Leaflet. 


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Timothy  Stand-by 


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BY  JOSEPH  CLARK. 


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Ohio 

Sunday  School  Association 

COLUMBUS,  OHIO 

SA 

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TIMOTHY  STAND-BY 

ON 

GITTIN  THE  MISSHUNABY  VISHUN. 

(Copyright,  Joseph  Clark,  1908.) 


Brush  Fork,  Ohio. 

My  Deer  Sister  Mandy: 

It’s  rite  smart  kool  this  evenin,  and  fer  the 
first  time  this  summer  a  cupple  of  sticks  is 
a-burnin  in  the  fire  place.  Marthy  is  a-sittin 
at  my  side,  and  we’re  onct  more  enjoyin  a 
little  wood  fire.  I’m  doin 
my  best  to  skratch  off  a 
letter  to  you  on  a  tablet. 
I  never  like  to  write  a  let¬ 
ter  to  you  without  givin 
you  a  pictur  of  the  sur- 
oundins,  so’s  you  can  reely 
live  on  the  spot  while 
you’re  a-reedin  of  the  let¬ 
ter.  That’s  what  Sunday- 
skool  teechers  in  these 
days  calls  “the  settin  of 
the  lesson.” 

Of  korse  you’ve  learned 
long  afore  this  that  the 
biggest  thing  in  Brush 
Fork,  next  to  our  oil  well, 

-  is  the  Brush  Fork  Metho¬ 
dist  Sunday-skool,  of  which 
yure  Bruther  Timothy  is 
the  Suprintendent,  and 
yure  cistern-law,  Marthy, 
is  the  “Elermenterry  Su- 
.  */  ^  .  printendent.”  That’s  Mar- 

thy’s  new  title.  It  sounds 

- '  mitey  high-ferlootin,  but 

don’t  get  skeered,  fer  Mar¬ 
thy  don’t  reely  hold  no  diffrent  posishun  in  the 
skool  frum  what  she  has  bln  holdin  fer  nigh 


on  to  forty  yeers.  Back  in  the  seventies  Marthy 
wuz  just  a  common  Infant  Klass  Teecher,  and 
she  had  infants  in  her  klass  all  the  way  frum 
children  in  arms  up  to  infants  dost  on  to 
twelve  in  lone- legged  trowsers.  In  them  days 
she  wuz  the  only  teecher  fer  the  hole  bunch. 
Mandy,  I’m  sure  you  remember  them  times, 
when  the  teechers  give  away  blue  and  red 
tickets  in  the  Sunday-skool,  and  when  it  used 
to  take  half  the  Sunday-skool  hour  fer  to  git 
the  tickets  swopped  fer  a  pictur  card. 

Well,  after  awhile  Marthy  got  a  blackbord. 
Then  she  wuz  called  Primary  Teecher.  She 
wuz  teechin  just  the  same  klass,  only  she  had 
a  different  title.  Then  she  got  to  goin  to 
Township  and  County  Convenshuns,  and  afore 
ennybuddy  knowed  it,  and  without  even  askin 
of  the  preecher,  she  had  her  klass  divided  into 
four  grades.  She  had  a  cradle  roll,  beginners, 
primaries,  and  junyers,  with  a  teecher  fer 
each  grade  but  the  cradle  roll.  Then  she 
give  out  that  hereafter  she'd  be  knowed  as  the 
Elermenterry  Suprintendent,  and  she  wuddent 
be  called  nuthin  else.  Gee  whiz!  when 
Marthy’s  sot,  she’s  sot.  I  fergit  half  the 
time  what  her  new  title  is,  so  I’ve  rit  it  on 
the  swetter  band  of  my  hat  fer  reddy  refer¬ 
ence,  “lest  I  fergit,”  as  Mr.  Kiplin  sez.  So 
Marthy’s  posishun  now  aint  no  diffrent  frum 
what  it  haz  bin,  oniv  she’s  doin  things  some 
diffrent  and  lots  better;  and  she  aint  tryin 
to  do  the  hole  thing  herself.  There  wuz  a 
time  when  Marthy  would  work  in  the  wurd 
“elermenterry”  every  time  she  spoke  to  enny¬ 
buddy,  but  since  our  new  English  Persidin 
Elder  haz  bin  a-speakin  of  Marthy’s  klass  as 
the  bellemen terry  department,  Marthy’s  kinder 
quieted  down  on  that  pint. 

Well,  Mandy,  I  m  gittin  off  the  track,  fer  I 
didn’t  start  in  to  rite  about  the  elermenterry 
department,  but  about  the  missliuuary  revival 
what’s  broke  out  in  the  Stand-by  family  and 
the  Brush  Fork  Sunday-skool.  And  it’s  all 


on  ackount  of  Marthy's  pyoneer  spirit.  She’s 
allers  blazin  the  way  fer  sumthin  new. 

Way  along  last  spring  she  got  track  of  a 
Sunaay-Skool  Konference  of  the  Young 
Peeple’s  Misshunary  Movement,  at  Silver  Bay, 
New  York,  and  she  to  onct  begun  to  harp  on 
my  goin.  She  sed  I  needed  a  misshunary 
revivul,  and  I  needed  it  bad;  that  I’d  gone 
crazy  on  Sunday-skool  work  without  catchin 
on  to  the  grate  objeck  of  the  Sunday-skool. 
She  sed  that  the  “eddikashun  and  the  savin 
of  the  people  in  the  nayborhood  wuzzent  enuff. 
If  the  Sunday-skool  had  enny  misshun  at  all 
it  wuz  to  help  save  the  bole  wurld.”  She  sed 
that  the  wurk  of  improvin  skools  fer  their  own 
gratefikashun  wuz  selfish,  and  that  I  orter 
wurk  to  make  skools  better  so  that 
the  skools  mite  make  the  wurld  better  by 
sendin  money  and  misshunaries  and  prayers 
into  the  misshun  fields.”  She  sed  that  “no 
Sunday-skool  could  do  that  unless  it  had  a 
bigger  vishun  of  the  Kingdum  than  its  own 
little  church  or  its  own  little  nayborhood.” 

Oh  my!  Mandy,  Marthy  got  awful  excited. 
She  stood  up  on  the  other  side  of  our  sittin 
room  table  like  as  if  she  wuz  makin  a  speech 
at  a  banquet,  and  sed,  “Timothy  Stand-by, 
the  wurld  will  never  be  brawt  to  Christ  till 
the  Sunday-skool  gits  the  misshunary  vishun, 
and  Dr.  Bailey  wuz  rite  when  he  said,  ‘It’s  the 
bizness  of  the  bole  Sunday-skool,  and  it’s  tbe 
bole  bizness  of  tbe  Sunday-skool,  to  carry 
tbe  bole  Gospel  to  tbe  hole  wurld,  as  quick 
as  possible.  Glory!’” 

Then  Marthy  went  on  and  sed,  “Timothy 
Stand-by,  I  ain’t  got  no  use  fer  you  as  a 
Sunday-skool  man  if  yure  sot  on  goin  along 
at  a  poor  dyin  rate  without  a  bigger  vishun 
of  the  wurk  than  Brush  Fork,  or  Isreel  Town¬ 
ship,  or  Sheepskin  County,  or  the  State  of 
Ohio,  or  the  United  States  of  Ameriky.  If 
you’re  goin  to  be  wurthy  the  name  of  a 
wurker  in  the  Kingdum  you’ve  got  to  git  a 


wurld  vishun,  and  I’ve  got  a  feelin  in  my 
bones  that  the  place  fer  you  to  git  it  is  at 
Silver  Bay.” 

I  tried  to  put  in  a  wurd  or  two  of  objeck- 
shun,  but  Marthy  wuz  too  quick  fer  me,  and 
went  rite  on.  She  sed,  “Timothy,  there  aint 
no  use  of  havin  an  oil  well  a-pumpin  out  oil 
day  and  nite,  and  swellin  our  bank  ackount 
without  a-using  of  it;  and  there  ainc  no  use 
of  puttin  up  enny  excuse  fer  not  goin.” 

Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I  went! 
I  can’t  tell  you  all  about  the  wunders  of  that 
Konference,  but  I  kame  back  with  the  vishun,” 
and  Brush  Fork  Sunday-skool  is  now  a-wurkin 
misshuns  to  beet  the  band. 

The  first  thing  I  did  wuz  to  appint  a 
Misshunary  Kommittee.  I  didn’t  put  on  it  a 
lot  of  good  sisters  what  had  been  wurkin  on 
the  Woman’s  Furrin  Misshunary  Society  fer 
fifty  yeer;  but  I  hunted  up  some  youngsters 
what  had  bin  sittin  around  waitin  to  be  asked 
to  do  somethin,  and  wuz  just  reddy  fer  a 
chance  to  show  what  they  could  do.  I  ap- 
pinted  them,  and  then  asked  them  to  come 
down  to  the  house  on  Monday  evenin,  fer  sup¬ 
per.  Then  after  supper  I  took  them  in  the 
parler  and  told  them  about  the  Silver  Bay 
Meetin,  and  got  them  all  stirred  up  on  makin 
Brush  Fork  count  fer  somethin  in  the  big 
wurld.  I  only  needed  to  pull  the  string,  and 
Marthy  preeclied  a  misshunary  sermon  fit  fer 
a  Bishop. 

Why,  iuandy,  afore  we  got  away  from  that 
meetin  the  Kommittee  had  formed  themselves 
into  a  Misshun  Study  Klass  on  kinder  original 
lines.  I  had  brought  home  with  me  from 
Silver  Bay,  Trull’s  “Manual  of  Misshunary 
Methods  for  Sunday  Skool  Wurkers,”  and  on 
page  18G,  we  found  a  list  of  books  fer  general 
equipment  of  Suprintendents,  Teechers  and 
Mishhunary  Kommittees.”  The  hole  outfit 
costs  only  about  three  dollars.  Somebuddy 
moved  that  we  buy  it  and  afore  we  could  say 


skat  the  money  wuz  on  the  parler  table  and 
the  seckertery  of  the  Kommittee  wuz  instrukt- 
ed  to  send  to  our  denominashunal  publishin 
house  fer  the  books.  When  they  come  the 
Kommittee  is  goin  to  form  itself  into  a  little 
readin  sirkle  and  read  the  books  a  turn  about, 
until  each  member  of  the  Kommittee  has  read 
the  whole  bunch.  By  that  time,  Mandy,  they’ll 
all  have  the  vishun.  That’s  the  thing  to  git — 
the  vishun. 

At  the  next  meetin  of  the  Sunday-Skool 
Board  the  Kommittee  is  goin  to  ask  it  to  order 
fer  the  skool  a  set  of  six  charts  published  by 
the  Young  Peeple’s  Misshunary  Movement, 
mounted  on  wood  rollers,  and  a  big  Misshun¬ 
ary  Map  of  the  World,  about  7x12  feet,  and 
a  Juvinile  Misshunary  Library  of  ten  volumes, 
and  a  thousand  envelups — duplex  envelups — 
containin  two  pockets  (one  fer  the  reglar 
skool  offerin  and  the  other  fer  a  weekly 
misshunary  offerin),  and  a  kabnet  fer  misshun¬ 
ary  kuriosities  frum  furrin  countries,  and  a 
markin-outfit  fer  makin  sines  and  charts. 
One  of  the  clover  boys  on  the  Kommittee  is 
goin  to  make  a  bullitin  bord  to  hang  up  in 
the  entry  of  the  church  fer  misshunary 
nctices.  Oh,  Mandy,  we’re  goin  into  the  biz- 
ness  rite.  The  hole  outfit  won’t  cost  mor'n 
twenty  dollars,  and  that’s  nuthin  kompared  to 
what  it  will  do  fer  the  kollecshuns. 

The  Kommittee  is  a-goin  to  recommend  that 
we  git  a  misshunary  pledge  of  at  least  two 
cents  a  week  frum  each  member  of  the 
skool,  and  ask  the  skollars  to  pay  it  weekly 
in  the  duplex  or  double-pocket  envelups.  It's 
kinder  got  wispered  around  alreddy  what 
we’re  a-plannin  and  the  boys  and  girls  is 
crazy  to  begin  to  use  the  duplex  sistem;  it’s 
rite  smart  novel  you  know. 

Miss  Snyder,  the  teecher  of  one  of  the 
Junyer  klasses  has  alreddy  sent  fer  six 
copies  of  “Uganda’s  White  Man  of  Wurk,” 
and  is  goin  to  take  it  up  with  her  boys  one 


evenin  each  week.  She  will  have  the  first 
Misshun  Study  Klass  in  Brush  Fork  Sunday- 
skool.  Oh,  Mandy,  it’s  grate.  Glory! 

Marthy  aint  sed  nuthin  about  it  yet  to  a 
livin  sole  but  me;  but  she’s  a-plannin  (if  the 
oil  well  keeps  on  a-runnin)  to  make  the  skool 
a  Christmas  present  of  a  majick  lantern  fer 
to  show  up  picturs  on  misshuns.  I  don’t 
know  just  how  such  a  thing  will  take  in  the 
skool,  fer  there’s  an  awful  prejudis  agin 
majick  lanterns  in  Brush  Fork  since  the 
Moovin  Pictur  Show  opened  up  in  Skirvin’s 
meat  market.  But  Marthy  sez  she’s  goin  to 
risk  it,  and  she’s  a-trustin  on  the  Lord  to 
help  her  out. 

We’re  goin  to  begin  the  new  Misshunary 
skeem,  the  Lord  willin,  on  October  1,  and  I’ll 
watch  the  way  it  wurks  in  the  first  quarter 
and  report  when  I  rite  my  next  letter. 

There’s  one  thing  Marthy  and  I  are  prayin 
fer  hard.  We  are  prayin  that  inside  of  a  year 
some  of  our  young  peeple  will  heer  the  call 
of  God  to  a  furrin  field  or  to  some  part  of 
our  home  misshun  field,  and  that  soon  Brush 
Fork  Sunday-skool  will  not  only  be  preechin 
the  Gospil  to  the  peeple  in  Isreel  Township, 
but  that  it  will  have  reel  live  misshunaries 
a-wurkin  among  the  heethen  and  among  the 
furriners  in  our  big  cities  and  out  on  the 
frunteer.  Glory! 

I’ve  fished  out  some  of  the  fixins  I  brawt 
back  frum  the  Holy  Land  and  am  preparin  to 
make  the  first  kontribushun  to  the  Kuriosity 
Kabnet  when  it  comes.  I’ve  got  a  little  of 
the  Jordan  water  left,  and  a  shepherd’s  rod 
and  some  pressed  flowers,  and  some  shells 
frum  the  See  of  Galilee,  and  a  lot  of  things 
that  will  give  the  kabnet  a  start. 

Just  as  I’m  closin  this  letter  Sam  Putty- 
man  brawt  in  the  mail,  and  in  it  came  one  of 
the  addresses  which  wuz  give  at  the  Sil¬ 
ver  Bay  Konference,  on  “The  Smoke  of  a 
Thousand  Villages.”  My!  I’m  glad  to  git 


that,  fer  it  stirred  the  Konference  frum  top 
to  bottom.  I’m  going  to  have  it  red  out  loud 
at  our  next  teachers’  meetin.  It  will  do  lots 
to  get  the  teechers  to  see  the  vishun.  The 
“vishun!”  the  vishun!”  That’s  the  thing  to 
git!  The  “vishun!”  If  you  aint  got  it  yet, 
I  hope  you’ll  git  it  soon,  Mandy,  fer  life  aint 
wurth  livin  without  the  “vishun!” 

Come  out  and  see  us  soon.  Fruit’s  plenty, 
and  the  farm  looks  butiful.  And,  best  of  all, 
the  oil  well’s  still  a-runnin.  Glory! 

Yures  truly, 

TIMOTHY  STAND-BY. 


NOTE: — Trull’s  “Missionary  Methods  for 
Sunday  School  Workers”  can  be  had  for  fifty 
cents,  postpaid,  by  sending  to  The  Sunday 
School  Times  Co.,  1031  Walnut  St.,  Philadel¬ 
phia,  Pa. 

The  Booklet  “The  Smoke  of  a  Thousand  Vil¬ 
lages,”  or  The  Missionary  Opportunity  of  the 
Sunday-school,  by  Dr.  Joseph  Clark,  will  be 
sent  for  ten  cents,  postpaid,  if  ordered  from 
the  Ohio  Sunday  School  Association,  Ruggery 
Bldg.,  Columbus,  O. 


